Bloody Mary winner sets his sights on GP14 nationals victory

After winning the Bloody Mary last weekend, Carl Jeffes is looking forward to challenging the dominance of Richard Estaugh in the GP14 class.
"He has won the nationals so many times now," Jeffes told madforsailing. "But Neil Marsden beat him last year, and then we beat Neil at the Irish Nationals which we won. That gave me the confidence to believe we can win the UK championships this year."

The 27-year-old from Trimpley Sailing Club near Kidderminster is also considering other classes, although he says he will always remain faithful to the GP fleet. "They’re a superb bunch, really friendly. In the GP it’s all down to good boathandling and the dick on the stick. You don’t have to go spending £5,000 on new gear to be competitive. I’ve also got an RS400 but I’ve not put in enough time to learn how to sail asymmetrics yet.

Jeffes is six foot and 15 stone, ideal material for a 505 crew, but he has contemplated a move into the Flying 15. "They’ve got their worlds in Durban, which is where the GPs were last year, but I’ve not got my act together in time. But that is definitely something I’d like to have a go at," he said.

As for the Bloody Mary, he was delighted the GPs showed so strongly. "The last time we won it was in 1990 with Neil Platt, so it was about time we had a look in. I think we had four in the top 10 this year. The course really suited us because we could carry our spinnaker on the long tight reach across the top of the reservoir. There wasn’t too much broad reaching, which would have suited the asymmetric classes much better. In the end it was pretty comfortable, the Merlin which came second was really the only threat towards the end."